Inquiring Minds...Day 8

Do you have kids/grandkids? If not, do you want kids or plan on becoming a parent any time soon?

I was the first of the six girls to get married and the first to have a baby. Boy did grandson #1 ever get spoiled!! But...HOLY COW!!!! No one ever told me babies CRY!!! I was in the hospital 4 days and the nurses did all the caring for the baby until they sent me home. I cried right along side of Troys little bed the whole first night...
I raised five kids (and lost one in infancy). I have four sons and 1 daughter. Valerie is right in the middle. She always wanted a sister. When I came home from the hospital with our youngest son she started crying and asked me..."Mommy, don't you like girls?" When I assured her I did, she wanted to know..."Then why do you keep having little boys?" That was a hard one to explain to an 8-year old...LOL!
I also have 9 grandchildren including the infant granddaughter we lost in 2006.

Inquiring Minds...Day 7

How did you meet your husband/significant other?

Brad and I went to the same high school but didn't really know each other. We met one night when I was an usher at our local movie theater. He and some friends came in to see the midnight movie on New Years Eve. He was being totally obnoxious and I finally had to hit him with my flashlight. After the movie was over he asked me if I wanted a ride home. That was almost 44 years ago and we are still together!!

Inquiring Minds...Day 6

Did you go to college after high school? Is your job now related to your education?

I graduated from high school with the dream of becoming a journalist. I loved working on the school paper and thought I'd like that as a career. However, I had an even bigger dream and that was to be a mom. Once I started having kids there just never seemed to be any time or money to continue my education. I actually thought the dream of being a writer was never going to happen. But you know what? I may not get paid for it but I am a journalist. Not for any local newspaper, but for my family.

Inquiring Minds...Day 5

For some of you the teen years were not so long ago. For others, maybe a few more years. My question today is Do you have any teenage experiences good or bad that really stand out in your mind? Share as many as you like...inquiring minds want to know!

We moved from our beautiful 5-bedroom home in the city to a 2-bedroom home on a dairy ranch the day after my 13th birthday. (don't forget there were 6 kids and 2 adults here) It was heartbreaking to leave all my friends but kind of exciting at the same time. I had just entered Junior High and left a school where there were 700 kids in the 7th grade alone to a attend a country school where there were a total of 8 kids in the 7th and 8th grades combined!!! Major culture shock!!! And dairy life...not so exciting!!! I spent five years helping out on the dairy. Even tho Dad never got that boy he was trying for, he had some pretty strong help out there in the barn. It's a life I wouldn't wish on a goat but it sure taught me about responsibility and how important it is that a family work together.

Our high school was a little bigger. 150 in my graduating class. I loved high school. Even tho the dairy took up a lot of our time and we had to schedule so many activities around that schedule, it wasn't all that bad since a lot of my friends were in the same boat. We definitely weren't the only dairy around. It's hard to imagine what life would have been like had we stayed in the city. I can't picture myself being anything but a 'country girl'.

Wedding Bells

Well, there weren't actually any wedding bells but Josh and Lucie are husband and wife none the less. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey!!! They decided they wanted to get married on the anniversary of their first date which is TODAY! They asked Chief of Police, Bob Pasero, who works with Josh, and who is also an ordained minister, to do the honors of marrying them. They planned an outdoor ceremony in the park but as beautiful as it was yesterday today turned off rainy and windy....and COLD! So they had the ceremony in their own livingroom instead. They are planning a reception in the Spring. I'm so excited to have a new daughter-in-law and a granddaughter. Welcome to our crazy family, Lucie and Amanda!

Inquiring Minds...Day 4

When did you get your drivers license? Do you have any teenage driving experiences you'd like to tell us about?

I finished my drivers training just after I tuned 16. I planned to get my license that summer. HOWEVER, I was trying to learn to ride my friends mototcycle (my first time in the drivers seat), took a corner too fast and slid out of control in the gravel. Wound up with a concusion, lacerations on my chin and palms of my hands, and a sprained knee. Needless to say that ended my driving for the rest of that summer. It wasn't til the following Spring when my grandparents came out for a visit that my grandma talked me into using her brand new car for the test...awesome! I was actually a pretty careful driver when I was a teen. Brad on the other hand...not so much. But that's another story...LOL!

DAISY SCOUTS

Lucie is really getting this Daisy Scout thing down. She held her first 'Investiture Ceremony' on Wednesday (Nov. 18). Paige is one of the Daisies in her troop. The ceremony was short and sweet and just too cute! A friend of theirs made this adorable Daisy cake!